Brockton man stabbed on Legion Parkway in fight over cigarettes

City Councilor Thomas Monahan says police often have walking beats on Legion Parkway in downtown Brockton, but more steps may be needed to protect public safety in light of a stabbing Friday night.

Benjamin Paulin The Patriot Ledger @BPaulin_Ledger

BROCKTON –- A Brockton man was hospitalized Friday night when an argument over stolen cigarettes escalated into a stabbing at Telly’s Alamo Café on Legion Parkway in Brockton.

Brian Anthony Pettiford, 47, of 49 West Elm Terrace, Brockton, was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after police said he stabbed a 40-year-old Brockton man in the chest while the two were fighting inside the bar.

Police Sgt. Scott Besarick said Pettiford was trying to sell the victim stolen cigarettes when they began to argue and Pettiford took out a black folding knife and stabbed the victim in the chest at 10:34 p.m.

Patrons at the bar called police and held Pettiford down on the ground until officers arrived, Besarick said.

Police said the two men know each other and the stabbing was not a random attack or robbery.

The victim, whose name was not released, was taken to Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening.

On Saturday afternoon, a bartender at the Alamo Café said that she was not working when the stabbing occurred and did not know the details of what happened. Patrons in the bar at that time said they were not there the night before.

Legion Parkway has seen many incidences of violence and crime in the past.

In August 2013, a man was stabbed in the leg in an alley behind Legion Parkway. There was a trail of blood to where officers found the victim lying on the ground in the alley.

An Easton man was charged with robbing a convenience store on the street in December 2012. Police said the man stabbed the store clerk and carjacked a taxicab outside the store.

On Christmas Day in 2011, a man was shot in the buttocks after he argued with two other men on the sidewalk on Legion Parkway.

In 2004, two women were charged with assault with intent to murder when police said they stabbed and beat another woman outside the Alamo Café.

Brockton police Lt. Paul Bonanca said “calls for service are not frequent” at the bar. He said that Legion Parkway is heavily patrolled by officers.

City Councilor Thomas Monahan, who represents Ward 2, which includes Legion Parkway, said police often have walking beats down the street but more may be needed in light of the stabbing.

“You can’t really control what goes on in an establishment. If somebody is carrying a knife on them and they decide to stab somebody there’s not much anyone can do about that,” Monahan said. “I think we’re doing what we can right now and maybe with this last incident we can pick it up a little bit. Maybe we could pick up the patrols a little bit there.”

Pettiford is expected to be arraigned Monday in Brockton District Court.